‘Listen to students because they know more’: Physical education teachers’ views and experiences of teaching gender diverse students in England

Abstract

Physical education (PE) is heteronormatively structured, which creates barriers for gender diverse students. An increasing body of literature focuses on LGBTQ+ issues in PE, but there has been less focus on gender diversity specifically. Adopting a Bourdieusian perspective, this paper explores PE teachers’ views and experiences of teaching gender diverse students in England. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 PE teachers, and reflexive thematic analysis led to the construction of two themes: ‘the PE field: strongly entrenched “rules of the game”’ and ‘questioning the doxa: understanding and awareness of gender diversity in PE’. The first theme demonstrates that, similar to previous research, sex/gender-segregated changing rooms and lessons, and gendered kit were highlighted as particularly problematic features of the PE field. The second theme illustrates that participants had different levels of knowledge and understanding of gender diversity, and the extent to which they reported adapting their practice to meet gender diverse students’ needs varied. The results indicate that the PE field continues to marginalise gender diverse students, but teachers recognised a need to provide an inclusive environment. To do this, they emphasised building relationships with and listening to gender diverse students.